It's been three years since we last saw our primary school classmates. 从上次见到小学同学到现在已经三年了。（或：我们已经有三年没见到我们小学的同学了。） 这是一个常用句型，它的基本结构是：“It has been / is ….since 主语 + 现在时 / 过去时”。 用这个句型时要注意两点：1. 无论多少年，has been / is不能用复数形式,也就是不能改为have been / are; 2. since 后的动词如果是现在时，表示“…已经多长时间了”； since 后的动词如果是过去时，表示“已经没有…多长时间了”； 如：It is five years since I am a teacher. 我当老师已经五年了。It is five years since I was a teacher. 我已经五年每当老师了。
I used to see him reading in the library every day. 我以前常看到他每天在图书馆看书。 “used to do” 表示过去常…, 而现在已经不…了”。如：I used to get up early. 我以前起的很早。（暗含有：我并不是一直睡懒觉的）
Did he use to wear glasses? 他以前戴眼镜吗? used to 的疑问句是在前面加did，后面used恢复为use.
Candy told me that she used to be really shy and took up singing to deal with her shyness. 坎迪告诉我她一度非常害羞，于是想通过唱歌来挑战羞涩。 “take up” 是 “开始从事…”: “deal with: 是“应对”的意思。
As she got better, she dared to sing in front of her class, 随着她的情况逐步好转，她开始敢于在班级同学面前放声高歌。 “dare” 敢于; 可作情态动词，可作实义动词，作情态动词时，后面没有to; 作实义动词时，后面要带to。这里显然是实义动词。
“I didn't use to be popular in school, but now I get tons of attention everywhere I go.” 我以前在学校并不引人注目，但是现在，无论我走到哪里，都会被人关注。used to 的否定句是在前面加didn't，后面used恢复为use. “ton”的原意是“吨”， 口语中“tons of” 表示 “大量”.
You can never imagine how difficult the road to success is. 你永远无法想象，通往成功的路途是多么艰难。这里是感叹句how difficult the road to success is做了imagine的宾语，成了宾语从句。the road to success是成功之路。“to”意思是 “通往…”. “to success” 是介词短语后置修饰the road.
Many times I thought about giving up, but I fought on. 许多次我都想到放弃，但我坚持奋斗下去了。 “fight on” 坚持奋斗。 On常用作动词后表示继续改动作。如：go on: 继续做，继续说；move on: 继续前进; work on: 继续工作。
his parents made a decision to send him to a boarding school. 李文的父母决定把他送到寄宿学校。“boarding shool” 指在学校吃住，学生一个星期，一个月，甚至一个学校才能回一次家。
He find life there difficult. 他感到那里的生活很困难。 there是副词作定语。后置。
One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. 一天，他告诉老师他想离开学校。”leave the school” 离开学校。“leave school” 毕业。
They take pride in everything good that I do. 他们为我所有好的表现感到自豪。“take price in” 以…为自豪。good修饰everything.
重点句子归纳：
He used to be so shy and quiet.
I used to see him reading in the library every day.
Did he use to wear glasses?
I didn't use to be popular in school, but now I get tons of attention.
Candy told me that she used to be really shy and took up singing to deal with her shyness.
It is hard to believe that he used to have difficult in school.
After that, Li Wei's parents had much more communication with their son than they used to.
I work even harder than I used to.
单元语法点讲解
used to 的用法 used to用来表示过去的习惯动作或状态，现在已不存在，没有人称和数的变化。如：
He used to read in the library every day. 他以前常常每天在图书馆看书。
It used to be a prosperous town. 这里过去是一个繁荣的城镇。
used to的否定式和疑问式有两种形式。一种是不用助动词，另一种是借助于助动词did,而借助于助动词的形式更为常见。如：
Did you use to play football? 或Used you to play football? 你过去题足球吗？
There used to be a hospital here, didn't there / usedn't there? 过去这里有一所医院，是吗？
注意：1. used to do是“过去经常做…（暗含现在已不….）: 2. be used to sth / doing sth 是“习惯于某事 / 做某事”(没有“现在已不….”的含义)；3. be used to do是被动语态。意思是 “被用来做…”; 三个结构不要混淆起来。
如：I usd to get up early. 我过去常早起。 I am used to getting up early. 我已习惯早起。Wood can be used to make paper. 木材可以用来造纸。
课堂在线小测验
一、课文理解检测
Li Wen is a normal 15-year-old boy from the countryside. He works very hard and does well school. It is hard to believe that he to have difficult in school.
Li Wen used to live with his parents. But when his parents moved to the city to look for jobs, he began to his parents and often felt and unhappy. He became less interested in . Sometimes he was from classes. One day, he told his teacher he wanted to the school. His teacher called his parents and advised his parents to talk with their son in . So his parents took a 24-hour train ride to go back to their hometown. They had a good conversation with Li Wen. Their conversation changed his life. “My parents helped me to understand even they couldn't be there to take care of me, they were always thinking of me and would take in everything good that I did.” he said. Now Li Wei has really changed. He became more and became active in many activities. He is now working even than he used to.
Yesterday afternoon Frank Hawkins was telling me about his experiences as a young man. Frank is now the head of a very large business company, but as a boy he used to work in a small shop. It was his job to repair bicycles and at that time he used to work fourteen hours a day. He saved money for years and in 1938 he bought a small work-shop of his own. During the war Frank used to make spare parts for aeroplanes. At that time he had two helpers. By the end of the war, the small work-shop had become a large factory which employed seven hundred and twenty-eight people. Frank smiled when he remembered his hard early years and the long road to success. He was still smiling when the door opened and his wife came in. She wanted him to repair their son's bicycle!
